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The Joy of Reading Laura Malloy

ATLANTA: A mother who fought to ban Harry Potter books from her children's suburban Atlanta school district on the grounds that they promote witchcraft ...

I like that the tacit statement here is "I believe in witchcraft. I believe that you can boil stuff in a caldron and turn people into snakes." And she said this to the newspaper.

People would be embarrased to say how much money they made or admit how many (or how few) people they had sex with. But the reality of
flying brooms and transmorgrification? Absolutely.

Mallory, whose children attend J.C. Magill Elementary School

If she's so concerned about her kids, why is she getting nationally famous for trying to ban the most popular young adult book ever?

Which do you suppose is more harmful: reading about witchcraft or getting shoved into a locker daily while your classmates chant
"Muggle! Muggle! Kill the muggle!"?

... claiming the popular fiction series is an attempt to indoctrinate children in religious witchcraft.

Yes, if anyone hates indoctrination it's a Fundamentalist.

"It's mainstreaming witchcraft ...

Indeed. Why should only the special ed. kids get to be witches?

Gwinnett school officials have argued that the books are good tools to encourage children to read and to spark creativity and imagination.

Banning all books with references to witchcraft would mean classics like "Macbeth" and "Cinderella" would have to go, they said.

At the mention of common sense and logical consistency Ms. Mallory's skin began to burn and she ran screaming from the interview.

Mallory, a mother of four from Loganville, questions the educational value of the fiction series.

I'm sure the building full of professional, credentialed folks appreciate the assist, lady.

"That's the kind of stuff in these books â€” murder and greed and violence. Why do they have to read them in school? If parents wanted to get these books, they could get them in bookstores," she said.

Has she ever read a book? Picked one up, maybe?

She said she has fought to ban the books from the classrooms â€” where she said teachers are assigning the books as homework â€” rather than restricting them from school libraries. "It's a clear promotion of the
books," she said. "And the books promote witchcraft."

Obviously. My parents were furious that my school library carried "The Metamorphosis", as they believe that schools should not promote
man-roach transformation.

The books have been challenged 115 times since 2000 ...

This is like finding out that the phrase "can i reuse a condom" has been Googled 789,374 in the last six months.

The Cedarville (AR) School District's board kept the books under lock and key after it decided the series fostered rebellion and encouraged witchcraft.

They also encourage sedition, angrying up the blood, disquieted humours and terminal fustigation.

In the Georgia decision, the state board ruled that Mallory had failed to prove that the books promote the Wicca religion.

They also found that instead of filing a complaint had just written "Jesus" 432 time on
several sheets of paper.

Although she has yet to decide whether to appeal the case, Mallory said she already has contacted an expert witness.

Has anyone told her that Helen Lovejoy isn't real?

If she doesn't decide to pursue her argument, she still hopes her protest will prompt others to take another look at the series.

The same people still reeling from the sight of women voting.

"If even one parent or one child has looked into this more closely, it's worth it," she said.